Cinema Reviews

Horrible Bosses 2

25th Nov 2014

In the sequel to the sleeper hit of 2011, we catch up with Nick, Kurt and Dale as they venture away from their worker ant lives in hopes of living out new, entrepreneurial dreams. Now their own bosses, they meet up with Bert Hanson who orders 100,000 of the boy’s product, the ‘Shower Buddy’. However, after Hanson reneges on his order, the guys resort to their old unlawful tendencies to give Hanson his comeuppance.

There are a few problems with this comedy, but the main one being that it isn’t funny. Fundamentally, it is always tough to follow a successful comedy film. They either fall flat by hitting the same beats as the first but in a stale manner, or are completely fresh but lack that punch that made the first so magical. Horrible Bosses 2 is the former of these, and it’s script and direction are mostly to blame.

The responsibility is resting on the shoulders of its stars, Jason Bateman, Charlie Day and Jason Sudeikis, to be their usual funny selves. Anticipating this is the first mistake that director Sean Anders makes, but not the last. The casting of Chris Pine as Hanson’s obnoxious son could have been enjoyable, but sadly his attempt into comedic foray is a bit sad. And Jennifer Aniston’s sexually addicted dentist is back to literally hit the same beat again.

But the 3 boys, who you can usually count on, are the ones who let us down the most. Bateman’s by the book Nick, Sudeikis’ slightly dumb Kurt and Day’s slightly dumber Dale keep stumbling over themselves, figuatively and literally. The slap stick and visual gags are one thing, but the constant talking over one another for comic value annoys us more than it does Nick. It’s tough to keep up, tough to follow, and the attempt at quick wit and vamping up the humour to Apatow levels is a mis-timed tackle in this game.

Some saving graces include Jamie Foxx’s return as Dean ‘MF’ Jones, who is to only one who seems to get what this film is about, and how to get the most out of his character. Christoph Waltz is violently underused as the main antagonist, but Kevin Spacey’s cameo behind bars is a breath of fresh air that this picture direly needed. Even his earring is glorious.

But it’s too little too late for Ander’s latest offering. He’s got a hand in another comedy sequel to arrive later this year: Dumb And Dumber To. One can hope that it hits a little higher, but right now we’re looking at Horrible Bosses 2, which is only a step in front of being horrible.